Atlantic Airways Aviation Academy training center opens

The newly opened Atlantic Airways Aviation Academy’s training center in Vágar in the Faroe Islands consists of two state-of-the-art simulators: one Airbus A320 full-flight simulator (FFS) by SIM International, and a Leonardo AW139 FFS with linked mixed reality (MR) rear-crew training simulator by Thales, as well as several classrooms with other training devices and tools.

Next door is also the new Hotel Vágar, which will house trainees while attending the academy.

Atlantic Airways

Atlantic Airways provides international commercial passenger services and local domestic island-hopping flights, as well as providing emergency medical and search and rescue services.

The Faroese Minister for Justice and Internal Affairs, Bjarni K Petersen, said at the ceremony: “It is my hope that the Aviation Academy can carry the torch onwards from our proud maritime history, and develop the aviation workforce, pilots from home and abroad.”

Jóhanna á Bergi, CEO of Atlantic Airways, said: “Today we take an even greater step forward by placing the Faroe Islands on the global aviation training map. To advance and create new opportunities, we have established Atlantic Airways Aviation Academy, a testament to our commitment to excellence, self-sufficiency, and cutting-edge training. This academy will train our Faroese helicopter and fixed-wing pilots, while also welcoming aviation professionals from all over the world.” She added: “At Atlantic Airways, we believe training is not just about learning technical skills, it’s about saving lives.”

AW139 simulator

The Thales Reality H AW139 helicopter FFS is a Level D flight simulator training device (FSTD) that can train for and replicate missions that occur in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions, with night vision goggles, and conduct hoist missions, as well as a variety of other situations. There are high-definition visuals for all of Northern Europe, including the UK, Iceland, Scandinavia, Finland and Russia, with specific extra-high-resolution visuals for the Faroe Islands, Stavanger, southern France, and a windfarm.

The AW139 simulator is also combined with a rear-crew trainer that allows the pilots and winch crew to train on the same simulated scenario with linked communications. The rear-crew trainer is a mixed reality simulator, where crew wear a VR headset and are able to physically manipulate a hoist line in the simulated environment.

The construction and installation process was relatively swift and Atlantic Airways reached out to Thales for this project because of Thales’ vast experience in the field. Remi Du Peloux, COO of Thales Training & Simulation, said the process of the build was very much a partnership between the two companies, where requirements and adjustments were continually attended to to ensure that the scenarios and situations were “as close as possible to the reality of the flights that might happen”. Du Peloux also wanted to point out that it wasn’t just transportation, but the simulator is also capable of special operations.

A Bergi added: “The Thales FFS provides our pilots with an unparalleled cockpit experience, essential for mastering the operational challenges they may face in real-world scenarios. We’ve been confident from the beginning that partnering with Thales was the right decision. Their expertise, professionalism, and close collaboration with our team have been instrumental in bringing our vision to life. The AW139 simulator and integrated hoist trainer are key pillars of our Aviation Academy and will ensure world-class, mission-ready training for pilots and crews right here in the Faroe Islands.”